Research has found that students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may face difficulties in reading comprehension. This study explored the functional relationship between the use of a graphic organizer (GO) app on the iPad and the number of correct independent responses to reading comprehension questions by one student with ASD Level 1. The…

This article presents a case study of a remote bridge program for adults who have disabilities that shows how responsive virtual instructional design can expand access to learning and build confidence in populations that face barriers to success in education and training. It focuses on how to reframe instructional practices through technology and…

Multiple reports suggest that future engineering work will be conducted by globally diverse teams for globally diverse customers. Despite the demonstrated benefits of study abroad opportunities to develop such global competencies, undergraduate engineers participate at low rates. The Rising Sophomore Abroad Program presented in this paper…

Music teachers should have opportunities to participate in professional development that focuses on their interests, learning style, and is relevant to classroom activities and goals. Online professional development allows teachers to participate in ways they see fit for their circumstances and can promote reflection and growth. Teacher-created…

High-quality field-based experiences are at the core of teacher preparation programs; however, the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited access to such placements for pre-service teachers. This descriptive study examined how virtual tutoring in a summer-semester intermediate literacy course impacted both pre-service teachers and students served.…

The Rural Math Innovation Network (RMIN) is a 4-year project that launched in January 2017 after receiving a $2.9 million Investing in Innovation (i3) development grant from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and matching funds from the private sector. Virginia Ed Strategies and rural local education agencies (LEAs) in Virginia are implementing…

Empirical Education Inc. is the independent evaluator of SRI International's 2014 Investing in Innovation (i3) Development grant called Redesigning Secondary Courses to Improve Academic Outcomes for Adolescents with Disabilities and Other Underperforming Adolescents. The goal of the grant is to develop "Enhanced Units" that combine…

In light of COVID-19, school divisions across the country closed their doors and shifted to remote instruction. In Virginia, little guidance was provided to assist educators and teacher educators with making this transition, particularly for students with individualized education programs (IEPs). In May of 2020, researchers surveyed Virginia…

Social networking sites (SNSs) are popular technologies used frequently among youth for recreational purposes. Increasing attention has been paid to the use of SNSs in educational settings as a way to engage youth interest and encourage academically productive discussion. Potential affordances of using SNSs for education include knowledge…

Google Earth is a powerful instructional resource for geoscience education. We have extended the virtual globe to include all terrestrial planets. Downloadable Keyhole Markup Language (KML) files (Google Earth's scripting language) associated with this paper include lessons about Mercury, Venus, the Moon, and Mars. We created "grand…

There is a plethora of established theories about online pedagogy. This white paper provides insights into the findings of a research study conducted in January 2016 that focused on the types of training, if any, online instructors have received that pertains to teaching in the online environment. The study was conducted by a team of researchers…

Although the literature emphasizes the need for teachers to have online learning experiences in preparation for teaching online, teachers have few opportunities to experience online learning. One opportunity is online professional development. The authors hypothesized that online professional development might serve not only as a way to gain…

This quantitative, quasi-experimental, nonequivalent group study examined the impact on levels of measure that determine a return on investment of differing forms of interactive whiteboard (IWB) technology used at a high school in a suburban school district in southeastern Virginia. Three forms of IWB were compared: a full-screen IWB, a mobile…

The four-week university-sponsored summer Computer-based Writing (CBW) Program directed by the head of a special education initial teacher licensure program gave teaching interns opportunities to work with young struggling writers in a supervised clinical setting to address keyboarding skills, writing conventions and knowledge and application of…

Literacy skills are critical to students' academic achievement and setting them on a path to successful high school graduation and readiness for college and careers. "Passport Reading Journeys" [TM] is a supplemental literacy curriculum designed to help improve reading comprehension, vocabulary, word study, and writing skills of…